Azure was the Berlin sky

A strange tournament8212; strangely satisfying, too8212;ended on a disappointing note, Zidane8217;s dismissal being one of the few points of drama in a final lacking in atmosphere and displays of class the two teams can produce. Perhaps the problem lay in the fact that too few fans of the two competing countries expected to be here; the two sets of supporters were tucked away at either end of the vast stadium, with neutrals packing the seats in between.

That was a metaphor for the match, with the drama being confined to the initial moments and the endgame, the passage in between surviving on flashes of inspiration and displays of stunning technique. It seemed, indeed, that both teams had already played out their best: Italy against Germany, France against Brazil.

What kept the game alive was France8217;s goal, which Zidane converted with one foot seemingly already in football8217;s afterlife. Had it been the other way round, we might as well have packed our bags and gone home. But Italy8217;s response was perhaps too swift for the good of the game. Barely a dozen minutes after Materazzi had conceded the penalty with an ill-judged tackle, the giant defender 1.93 m outjumped the equally giant Patrick Vieira to head the ball firmly past Barthez.

That was off a Pirlo corner and it was the stylish Milan midfielder who caught the eye the most. With a dead ball, flying through the middle, creating space, even tracking back and helping out the defence, he was a worthy winner of the man of the match award.

There were two other contestants for that, and they were locked in a duel for much of the game. Thierry Henry and Fabio Cannavaro, perhaps the world8217;s best in their trade, put on a show of technical excellence and commitment 8211; and, in the Italian8217;s case, leadership, that helped salvage this match.

Cannavaro had had a dream tournament; Henry had not. On Sunday the Arsenal captain redeemed himself with a series of runs, tackles and through-balls, showing a level of determination that had been lacking the past few weeks. His link-up with Ribery was encouraging for a team now lacking Zidane8217;s services, and he seemed particularly heartened by the arrival of his close friend David Trezeguet, which allowed him to drift out wide to his favoured left wing.

Yet, as if this was a programmed X-Box game, whatever Henry plotted and planned, and executed, Cannavaro 8211; whose workload was increased by the fact that Gattusso was strangely off-colour 8212; just happened to nip at the right moment. A well-timed tackle, a salmon-like leap to outjump a taller opponent, waiting and watching and then swooping, his game had it all.

For 110 minutes the two teams were at par; if Italy shaded the first half, France were stronger in the second. By extra time both were wilting. Then came the moment that changed the course of the match. If Italy were playing for the penalty shootout before Zidane8217;s dismissal, they did so even more after the incident, knowing that France had few proven penalty takers.

That8217;s the way it ended. The better team won, on the night and in the competition.